1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
As strangers.
As pilgrims.
We are strangers and pilgrims- why?
Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Heb 11:14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
Who were 'these' that died in faith?
Abel
Enoch
Noah
Abraham
Isaac
Jacob
Sara
We know these people- these Biblically historical people. They were ALL STRANGERS and PILGRIMS on earth- just as WE are supposed to be. Why? Because we seek ANOTHER COUNTRY. This earth is NOT our home.
As those who are also strangers and pilgrims we are all who claim this status to abstain from fleshly lusts, why? Because fleshly lusts WAR against us. Our flesh lusts war against us dragging us down. When we indulge our ungodly lusts we are damaging ourselves. Those lusts hurt us in many ways, they keep us from God they separate us from God. When we choose not to abstain from those lusts we are actually choosing to separate ourselves from God.
There is a war and those lusts are going to war with us. We are going to war with ourselves, our flesh selves.
Why don't we understand this fully? Why can't we make this really real to ourselves? Why is it so hard to imagine that we are in a war and that war is against our own flesh nature, a nature Satan will encourage in us and strive to get us to indulge.
1Pe 2:11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul
Abstain. DO NOT DO these things. STOP doing these things. Stop indulging fleshly lusts!
People think those who abstain, those who deny themselves are oddballs. Truly those who do abstain from lusts that are being indulged freely by so many do appear to be odd. Fleshly lust rule our world. Fleshly lusts have become our norms in society. Take ONE night and watch several modern tv sitcoms, do it and you'll know without any doubt that fleshly lusts are very, very acceptable today. People watch these shows and so many emulate them. People get their standards from these shows. People are molded by these shows. When we think about this and realize that the Bible tells us to ABSTAIN from the lusts that are so prevalent in our world is it any wonder those who chose a life of abstaining are considered strange?
Abstain.
People indulge their desires all the time, to their own detriment.
How do we stop? Where do we find the power to deny ourselves? The only way is through Jesus, that is the ONLY way, by His grace and mercy, His power.
Please Lord, please help us to abstain from our fleshly lusts that would keep us from You. We need you so desperately.
Please help us.
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
The Lord is Gracious
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
If we taste the sincere milk of the word we KNOW the Lord is gracious.
It's the sincere milk of the WORD that helps us grow as newborn Christians.
How could God not be gracious in that He offers us eternal life through His Son, us who do NOT deserve eternal life at all whatsoever. We do NOT deserve salvation! We are sinners born with flesh desires that we nurture throughout our lives by yielding to temptations, by sinning, by living contrary to God's will, against the laws of God.
The laws- LOVE GOD.
The laws- LOVE EACH OTHER.
We seldom do either of these because we are so incredibly self centered.
The LORD is gracious! We are offered this sincere milk all by His mercy, His grace!
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
There is great beauty in these words- a living stone.
Rocks are symbols of solidness, yes? A living rock, a living symbol of solidness- of truth, pure truth. Chosen of God, precious. We are also supposed to be lively stones- living stones- why? How? Because we are a part of the living rock, the living stone - JESUS. The spiritual house is the house of our LORD. The holy priesthood is JESUS' holy priesthood- He is OUR HIGH PRIEST! We are His priests.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The Spiritual House- the Holy Priesthood.
We do offer up spiritual sacrifices - not physical, fleshy sacrifices but spiritual sacrifices and these sacrifices are ACCEPTABLE to God by Jesus Christ!
Our Lord is the CHIEF CORNERSTONE. We know this, we know that our Savior is our all in all, He is EVERYTHING!
We who believe understand this, we who believe KNOW this, but those who do not believe can't understand.
To those who do not know Jesus - He is a STONE of stumbling. He is a ROCK of offence. They cannot understand, they don't want to understand that He is a living stone, the He is a ROCK, a LIVING ROCK of life to all who believe.
Our Lord is gracious beyond our comprehension. We need to cling to Him, to cling to His love, His amazing, amazing love.
Too many people stumble at the word of God- too many people are disobedient. We need to fall at the feet of Christ and beg forgiveness, repenting of our sins. He is pure LOVE in a way we scarcely can begin to comprehend. He is the purest love that exists and we need to cling to that pure love seeking to love as He loves all through HIS Holy Spirit sent to us. Of our own we are helpless, it is ONLY in Christ we are anything at all.
All through HIS love!
All through HIS mercy!
Please Lord, please… have mercy on us, forgive us, love us!
All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior the Son of God.
Amen.
1Pe 2:3 If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.
If we taste the sincere milk of the word we KNOW the Lord is gracious.
It's the sincere milk of the WORD that helps us grow as newborn Christians.
How could God not be gracious in that He offers us eternal life through His Son, us who do NOT deserve eternal life at all whatsoever. We do NOT deserve salvation! We are sinners born with flesh desires that we nurture throughout our lives by yielding to temptations, by sinning, by living contrary to God's will, against the laws of God.
The laws- LOVE GOD.
The laws- LOVE EACH OTHER.
We seldom do either of these because we are so incredibly self centered.
The LORD is gracious! We are offered this sincere milk all by His mercy, His grace!
1Pe 2:4 To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,
1Pe 2:5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
1Pe 2:7 Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,
1Pe 2:8 And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
There is great beauty in these words- a living stone.
Rocks are symbols of solidness, yes? A living rock, a living symbol of solidness- of truth, pure truth. Chosen of God, precious. We are also supposed to be lively stones- living stones- why? How? Because we are a part of the living rock, the living stone - JESUS. The spiritual house is the house of our LORD. The holy priesthood is JESUS' holy priesthood- He is OUR HIGH PRIEST! We are His priests.
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Rev 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
The Spiritual House- the Holy Priesthood.
We do offer up spiritual sacrifices - not physical, fleshy sacrifices but spiritual sacrifices and these sacrifices are ACCEPTABLE to God by Jesus Christ!
Our Lord is the CHIEF CORNERSTONE. We know this, we know that our Savior is our all in all, He is EVERYTHING!
We who believe understand this, we who believe KNOW this, but those who do not believe can't understand.
To those who do not know Jesus - He is a STONE of stumbling. He is a ROCK of offence. They cannot understand, they don't want to understand that He is a living stone, the He is a ROCK, a LIVING ROCK of life to all who believe.
Our Lord is gracious beyond our comprehension. We need to cling to Him, to cling to His love, His amazing, amazing love.
Too many people stumble at the word of God- too many people are disobedient. We need to fall at the feet of Christ and beg forgiveness, repenting of our sins. He is pure LOVE in a way we scarcely can begin to comprehend. He is the purest love that exists and we need to cling to that pure love seeking to love as He loves all through HIS Holy Spirit sent to us. Of our own we are helpless, it is ONLY in Christ we are anything at all.
All through HIS love!
All through HIS mercy!
Please Lord, please… have mercy on us, forgive us, love us!
All through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior the Son of God.
Amen.
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Laying aside all -- evil.
1Pe 2:1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
*******
Malice- desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: the malice and spite of a lifelong enemy.
Pasted from
Guile- insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.
Pasted from
Hypocrisies- The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
Pasted from
Envies- a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions
Pasted from
Evil speaking- speaking ill of others; calumny;
censoriousness.
Pasted from
*******
Lay aside ALL desire to hurt someone, to cause someone suffering. Lay aside ALL insidious cunning, ALL deception, ALL duplicity. Lay aside ALL lying. Lay aside ALL discontent. Lay aside ALL covetousness. Lay aside ALL evil speaking.
What does it mean to lay aside all these bad parts of ourselves?
It means to get rid of them, doesn't it? These things can't be a part of our lives- not willingly- not without the very real desire to live without them. When we enjoy evil what's that say about us? Something isn't right with us, in fact something is very, very wrong. By the grace of God we will NOT embrace evil but shun it!
When a person does commit evil we are quick to notice and note that it's wrong. We've prisons filled with people who have chosen evil, people who have been overcome by committing evil. We've mental hospitals filled with people who have brain malfunctions that cause them to commit evil. Evil is a huge part of our every day lives because it's all around us. Is it any wonder we are told to lay aside all that evil? That we HAVE to be told to lay it aside.
Bits and pieces of that evil creep into our lives in so many ways. We don't have to be the biggest hypocrite to be a hypocrite. We don't have to be huge liars to be a liar. We don't have to be the greatest deceivers to be a deceiver. Do you see, we ALL have to lay aside the evil in our lives. This isn't a message for the *big* sinners, this is a message for all of us, for all sinners. This is a message for all of us who would be God's.
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
We have to lay aside all that evil and then, and ONLY then as NEWBORN BABES we have to desire the sincere milk of the word.
I speak from firsthand very, very recent experience when I say that newborn babes desire that milk often! They desire that milk more than most anything else. They do desire to be changed, and they do desire to be cuddled and loved, but their most basic need is to feed on the milk that they NEED to live, to grow.
We need to lay aside all that would keep us from desiring God and the Word of Life more than anything else. As a babe wanting milk we have to want God! Do we? Seriously, do we? Do we want God in that big of a part of our lives, taking up that much time? Newborn babes constantly eat, sleep, mess their diapers- this is their life. We have to want to eat that much- we have to want God that much in our lives. He needs to be our ALL in ALL, our source of LIFE. But for Him to be that big a part of our lives we have to lay aside all the things that would keep us from that life with God.
We have to CHOOSE to lay aside the things that would keep us from our Savior.
By the GRACE of God may we do this, may we choose to live for God fully, desiring Him in our lives more than anything else.
All through HIM and HIS LOVE!
By HIS SPIRIT!
Amen.
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
*******
Malice- desire to inflict injury, harm, or suffering on another, either because of a hostile impulse or out of deep-seated meanness: the malice and spite of a lifelong enemy.
Pasted from
Guile- insidious cunning in attaining a goal; crafty or artful deception; duplicity.
Pasted from
Hypocrisies- The practice of professing beliefs, feelings, or virtues that one does not hold or possess; falseness.
Pasted from
Envies- a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another's advantages, success, possessions
Pasted from
Evil speaking- speaking ill of others; calumny;
censoriousness.
Pasted from
*******
Lay aside ALL desire to hurt someone, to cause someone suffering. Lay aside ALL insidious cunning, ALL deception, ALL duplicity. Lay aside ALL lying. Lay aside ALL discontent. Lay aside ALL covetousness. Lay aside ALL evil speaking.
What does it mean to lay aside all these bad parts of ourselves?
It means to get rid of them, doesn't it? These things can't be a part of our lives- not willingly- not without the very real desire to live without them. When we enjoy evil what's that say about us? Something isn't right with us, in fact something is very, very wrong. By the grace of God we will NOT embrace evil but shun it!
When a person does commit evil we are quick to notice and note that it's wrong. We've prisons filled with people who have chosen evil, people who have been overcome by committing evil. We've mental hospitals filled with people who have brain malfunctions that cause them to commit evil. Evil is a huge part of our every day lives because it's all around us. Is it any wonder we are told to lay aside all that evil? That we HAVE to be told to lay it aside.
Bits and pieces of that evil creep into our lives in so many ways. We don't have to be the biggest hypocrite to be a hypocrite. We don't have to be huge liars to be a liar. We don't have to be the greatest deceivers to be a deceiver. Do you see, we ALL have to lay aside the evil in our lives. This isn't a message for the *big* sinners, this is a message for all of us, for all sinners. This is a message for all of us who would be God's.
1Pe 2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby
We have to lay aside all that evil and then, and ONLY then as NEWBORN BABES we have to desire the sincere milk of the word.
I speak from firsthand very, very recent experience when I say that newborn babes desire that milk often! They desire that milk more than most anything else. They do desire to be changed, and they do desire to be cuddled and loved, but their most basic need is to feed on the milk that they NEED to live, to grow.
We need to lay aside all that would keep us from desiring God and the Word of Life more than anything else. As a babe wanting milk we have to want God! Do we? Seriously, do we? Do we want God in that big of a part of our lives, taking up that much time? Newborn babes constantly eat, sleep, mess their diapers- this is their life. We have to want to eat that much- we have to want God that much in our lives. He needs to be our ALL in ALL, our source of LIFE. But for Him to be that big a part of our lives we have to lay aside all the things that would keep us from that life with God.
We have to CHOOSE to lay aside the things that would keep us from our Savior.
By the GRACE of God may we do this, may we choose to live for God fully, desiring Him in our lives more than anything else.
All through HIM and HIS LOVE!
By HIS SPIRIT!
Amen.
Monday, February 6, 2012
The word of the Lord endures forever!
1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.
Born again.
What do these words bring to mind? Born again. We are born once and that birth stems from a mother and father. Nicodemus asked this--
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
A very logical question, yes?
And here is Jesus' answer--
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
When we are born again- it's to a spiritual life, a spiritual birth that is truly incorruptible because our spiritual life will remain with us forever. After the grave if we are called to sleep the sleep of the first death- we will be raised with incorruptible bodies to match our incorruptible spirit that will rise together to meet our Lord in the air. The spiritual part of us is not subject to corruption-decaying- it is what makes us who we are. Our spiritual connection to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior will endure through all eternity. When we are born again we are accepting Jesus as our Savior, we are open to His Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our lives.
Just as we are to die daily- we are to be born again daily.
1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
ALL GLORY TO GOD!
The word of the LORD endureth for ever!
Our Savior endures forever!
All flesh is like the grass.
All that a man is, is like a flower.
Grass withers.
Flowers fall.
Man dies just the same.
We cannot pretend death does not exist- it's a foolish thing to imagine. Death is all around us on a daily basis on various levels. From the insect that is buzzing about one moment and squashed to nothingness the next, to the blade of grass plucked from the ground, from the food you choose to consume there are remnants and reminders of death everywhere in our lives and if we ignore them we ignore our own inevitability. We need to understand that death is a very real part of our lives and know that once death puts us in the grave we no longer have breath to praise God, we no longer have a chance to be born again. We need to be spiritually born now- today and everyday- born to live in the Spirit and not solely in the flesh- all by the GRACE and MERCY of our God!
Born again.
What do these words bring to mind? Born again. We are born once and that birth stems from a mother and father. Nicodemus asked this--
Joh 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
A very logical question, yes?
And here is Jesus' answer--
Joh 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Joh 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
When we are born again- it's to a spiritual life, a spiritual birth that is truly incorruptible because our spiritual life will remain with us forever. After the grave if we are called to sleep the sleep of the first death- we will be raised with incorruptible bodies to match our incorruptible spirit that will rise together to meet our Lord in the air. The spiritual part of us is not subject to corruption-decaying- it is what makes us who we are. Our spiritual connection to God through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior will endure through all eternity. When we are born again we are accepting Jesus as our Savior, we are open to His Spirit, allowing the Holy Spirit to touch our lives.
Just as we are to die daily- we are to be born again daily.
1Co 15:31 I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
1Pe 1:24 For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
1Pe 1:25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
ALL GLORY TO GOD!
The word of the LORD endureth for ever!
Our Savior endures forever!
All flesh is like the grass.
All that a man is, is like a flower.
Grass withers.
Flowers fall.
Man dies just the same.
We cannot pretend death does not exist- it's a foolish thing to imagine. Death is all around us on a daily basis on various levels. From the insect that is buzzing about one moment and squashed to nothingness the next, to the blade of grass plucked from the ground, from the food you choose to consume there are remnants and reminders of death everywhere in our lives and if we ignore them we ignore our own inevitability. We need to understand that death is a very real part of our lives and know that once death puts us in the grave we no longer have breath to praise God, we no longer have a chance to be born again. We need to be spiritually born now- today and everyday- born to live in the Spirit and not solely in the flesh- all by the GRACE and MERCY of our God!
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Fervent love
1Pe 1:17 And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear
The Father
WITHOUT respect of persons
Judges according to every man's WORK
Pass the time of our sojourning here in FEAR
What do we imagine this means? Seriously, what? God doesn't hold one man to a higher level than another in the grand scheme of things. Each man has a certain accountability to God to choose Him over Satan, to choose good over evil. We make our choices and we must live by those choices. The Father in heaven does NOT prejudge us because we are born into a sinful nature. Our Father in heaven judges us according to the actions of our lives- our choices- all that we are and that is our work- our way of living the life He's given to us. We have to realize we are JUDGED. We can't be stupid and keep our heads buried deep in the sand thinking we are our own masters and have no one to answer to. We have to answer to our heavenly Father. Every single human being has to answer to the Father. You might not believe it, but you'll have to answer for your unbelief. Is it any wonder we are to pass our time here on earth in fear? The fear of failing to be judged worthy, the fear of failing to be judged upon the righteousness of Christ. If we are judged according to our own righteousness we will be judged wholly unworthy. We need to fear, we need to understand that the fear can work to instill in us desire, the need to seek the righteousness of Christ, to seek the faith we need. When we don't fear we have no reason at all to comprehend our need of God.
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers
We cannot save ourselves with bribery. We cannot save ourselves using our material, earthly wealth. We have to realize that there is NOT a single thing we do that saves us- other than choosing to believe- a choice to be saved, we can only make that single choice and allow God to save us. We must allow the sacrifice of our Savior to live in us, to live for us.
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently
The PRECIOUS BLOOD of CHRIST.
As a LAMB without BLEMISH without SPOT.
FORORDAINED BEFORE the FOUNDATION of the WORLD.
MANIFEST in these LAST TIMES for US.
BY JESUS WE BELIEVE in GOD.
God RAISED Jesus from the dead.
God gave Jesus GLORY so WE may have FAITH and HOPE in GOD!
We PURIFY ourselves when we OBEY the TRUTH through the HOLY SPIRIT- to UNFEIGNED LOVE REAL REAL LOVE of each other! When we LOVE each other with a PURE HEART FERVENTLY!
Read that again… UNFEIGNED LOVE for each other! Loving each other with a PURE HEART FERVENTLY!
How many of us do this?????
Seriously, how many? Do you, do I? Do we?
Do we love others FERVENTLY?
Oh, for the love of our Savior may we LOVE others fervently! Please God help us to do this at a time when the love of many is waxing so very, very cold.
Please Lord, please.
The Father
WITHOUT respect of persons
Judges according to every man's WORK
Pass the time of our sojourning here in FEAR
What do we imagine this means? Seriously, what? God doesn't hold one man to a higher level than another in the grand scheme of things. Each man has a certain accountability to God to choose Him over Satan, to choose good over evil. We make our choices and we must live by those choices. The Father in heaven does NOT prejudge us because we are born into a sinful nature. Our Father in heaven judges us according to the actions of our lives- our choices- all that we are and that is our work- our way of living the life He's given to us. We have to realize we are JUDGED. We can't be stupid and keep our heads buried deep in the sand thinking we are our own masters and have no one to answer to. We have to answer to our heavenly Father. Every single human being has to answer to the Father. You might not believe it, but you'll have to answer for your unbelief. Is it any wonder we are to pass our time here on earth in fear? The fear of failing to be judged worthy, the fear of failing to be judged upon the righteousness of Christ. If we are judged according to our own righteousness we will be judged wholly unworthy. We need to fear, we need to understand that the fear can work to instill in us desire, the need to seek the righteousness of Christ, to seek the faith we need. When we don't fear we have no reason at all to comprehend our need of God.
1Pe 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers
We cannot save ourselves with bribery. We cannot save ourselves using our material, earthly wealth. We have to realize that there is NOT a single thing we do that saves us- other than choosing to believe- a choice to be saved, we can only make that single choice and allow God to save us. We must allow the sacrifice of our Savior to live in us, to live for us.
1Pe 1:19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
1Pe 1:20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,
1Pe 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.
1Pe 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently
The PRECIOUS BLOOD of CHRIST.
As a LAMB without BLEMISH without SPOT.
FORORDAINED BEFORE the FOUNDATION of the WORLD.
MANIFEST in these LAST TIMES for US.
BY JESUS WE BELIEVE in GOD.
God RAISED Jesus from the dead.
God gave Jesus GLORY so WE may have FAITH and HOPE in GOD!
We PURIFY ourselves when we OBEY the TRUTH through the HOLY SPIRIT- to UNFEIGNED LOVE REAL REAL LOVE of each other! When we LOVE each other with a PURE HEART FERVENTLY!
Read that again… UNFEIGNED LOVE for each other! Loving each other with a PURE HEART FERVENTLY!
How many of us do this?????
Seriously, how many? Do you, do I? Do we?
Do we love others FERVENTLY?
Oh, for the love of our Savior may we LOVE others fervently! Please God help us to do this at a time when the love of many is waxing so very, very cold.
Please Lord, please.
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Hope to the end
1Pe 1:13 Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
Hope to the end for the grace brought to us from a revealed Christ. We are cautioned to do more than hope aren't we? Gird up the loins of our minds- be sober. Some might scoff and say that's easy, I don't drink but that's not what is being said here. You don't have to be drunk on alcohol to have your mind corrupt and far from being sober. You can be drunk on selfishness so that it consumes you. You can be drunk on anger. You can be drunk on any emotion. The abnormal excesses of our fleshy desires make us drunk so that we are no where near being sober in our actions and all we do- understanding the seriousness of our lives and the eternity at stake. In ALL we do we have to put God first in our thoughts, don't we? Shouldn't we? Girding up the loins of our mind. When you gird your loins you are protecting them.
'Synonyms
3. brace, steel, fortify, strengthen.
Pasted from '
We have to protect our minds, fortify, strengthen our minds and in doing so we are protecting our THOUGHTS- the same thoughts that produce our actions. Yes, we have to HOPE for the grace of our Savior but we also need to protect our minds but not letting ourselves fall prey to excess. I say it that way because a lot of our desires are not wrong unless they are done in excess. I'm NOT saying ALL our desires by no means because desires can become perverse under the guidance of Satan, but our basic un-perverted desires are normal and yes-God given when they are NOT allowed excess in our lives- consuming us and becoming idols to us. We need to protect our minds by being sober in ALL things.
1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Lev 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Called to be holy.
Called to be Godly.
This isn't the call for a person to become a pastor, a priest, a minister- but this call is to all who would have the hope of Salvation in Jesus Christ.
How many people believe that only those called to a profession in the field of religion are expected to live godly, to live holy lives? They see a collar on a priest, a minister, or even just learn the title of a man as a pastor and automatically they are held to a higher standard than the common man. The truth is we ALL need to be held to the higher standard- God's standard. What else separates us from those who are not God's? If we blend in with the world is it because they are seemingly God's, or is it more likely the fact we are compromising and seem more like the ungodly? These are questions we NEED to ask ourselves. No, I'm not saying we need to make spectacles of ourselves in an outright effort to appear to be God's, but our lives in general should be sober lives- not given to the worldly excesses all around us. We should live lives of self-denial, shouldn't we?
Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Jesus in not walking the earth today asking people to follow Him. There is NO man alive on earth today that we are to follow like that, not ONE. There is NO religious organization we are to give up all we possess and follow. Yet we ARE to --
'... gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ'
We ARE to--
'...be ye holy in all manner of conversation
We ARE to--
'...Be ye holy; for I am holy.'
We ARE to--
'... be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'
We ARE to--
'... through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.'
Knowing this--
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
By the grace of God may we gird up the loins of our minds and HOPE, 'hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ', all through Him, all through the Holy Spirit, all through our Heavenly Father.
Help us, Lord, help us, save us from ourselves, from our self-destructive ways. Please Lord, help us to gird up the loins of our minds and be sober, to be holy as You would have us be holy.
All through YOUR righteousness- Savior! All through YOUR love!
Amen.
Hope to the end for the grace brought to us from a revealed Christ. We are cautioned to do more than hope aren't we? Gird up the loins of our minds- be sober. Some might scoff and say that's easy, I don't drink but that's not what is being said here. You don't have to be drunk on alcohol to have your mind corrupt and far from being sober. You can be drunk on selfishness so that it consumes you. You can be drunk on anger. You can be drunk on any emotion. The abnormal excesses of our fleshy desires make us drunk so that we are no where near being sober in our actions and all we do- understanding the seriousness of our lives and the eternity at stake. In ALL we do we have to put God first in our thoughts, don't we? Shouldn't we? Girding up the loins of our mind. When you gird your loins you are protecting them.
'Synonyms
3. brace, steel, fortify, strengthen.
Pasted from
We have to protect our minds, fortify, strengthen our minds and in doing so we are protecting our THOUGHTS- the same thoughts that produce our actions. Yes, we have to HOPE for the grace of our Savior but we also need to protect our minds but not letting ourselves fall prey to excess. I say it that way because a lot of our desires are not wrong unless they are done in excess. I'm NOT saying ALL our desires by no means because desires can become perverse under the guidance of Satan, but our basic un-perverted desires are normal and yes-God given when they are NOT allowed excess in our lives- consuming us and becoming idols to us. We need to protect our minds by being sober in ALL things.
1Pe 1:14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:
1Pe 1:15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
1Pe 1:16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.
Lev 19:2 Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the LORD your God am holy.
Called to be holy.
Called to be Godly.
This isn't the call for a person to become a pastor, a priest, a minister- but this call is to all who would have the hope of Salvation in Jesus Christ.
How many people believe that only those called to a profession in the field of religion are expected to live godly, to live holy lives? They see a collar on a priest, a minister, or even just learn the title of a man as a pastor and automatically they are held to a higher standard than the common man. The truth is we ALL need to be held to the higher standard- God's standard. What else separates us from those who are not God's? If we blend in with the world is it because they are seemingly God's, or is it more likely the fact we are compromising and seem more like the ungodly? These are questions we NEED to ask ourselves. No, I'm not saying we need to make spectacles of ourselves in an outright effort to appear to be God's, but our lives in general should be sober lives- not given to the worldly excesses all around us. We should live lives of self-denial, shouldn't we?
Mar 10:21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
Mat 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Mar 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
Luk 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Jesus in not walking the earth today asking people to follow Him. There is NO man alive on earth today that we are to follow like that, not ONE. There is NO religious organization we are to give up all we possess and follow. Yet we ARE to --
'... gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ'
We ARE to--
'...be ye holy in all manner of conversation
We ARE to--
'...Be ye holy; for I am holy.'
We ARE to--
'... be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.'
We ARE to--
'... through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.'
Knowing this--
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
By the grace of God may we gird up the loins of our minds and HOPE, 'hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ', all through Him, all through the Holy Spirit, all through our Heavenly Father.
Help us, Lord, help us, save us from ourselves, from our self-destructive ways. Please Lord, help us to gird up the loins of our minds and be sober, to be holy as You would have us be holy.
All through YOUR righteousness- Savior! All through YOUR love!
Amen.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Unto whom it was revealed
1Pe 1:10 Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Just as the prophet of old inquired and searched diligently for the coming of their Messsiah, we are searching diligently for the second coming of our Messiah, aren't we? We are searching the Scriptures hoping, praying, seeking, longing for understanding so that we are NOT taken unaware as so many in the day of Christ's ministry upon earth. How many who claimed to be looking and longing for the coming Messiah, how many who dedicated their entire lives to the service of God- rejected the Messiah when He appeared? More than we probably realize.
Jesus did NOT find His twelve Apostles among the Jewish religious hierarchy, among the Levites, the appointed priests serving God. Jesus found His twelve Apostles among the 'common' Jewish men. Jesus did NOT find His Apostles among the learned men, the rich men of His day. Jesus found His Apostles among the average, working man, the poor men. What should this tell us? Seriously, what should this message to us be?
We have to realize that Jesus' messages are wholly true and not fables- parables, yes, fables, no.
Jesus spoke of the poor, the unlearned, the broken hearted, the broken in spirit, the meek, the lowly, the poor, the down trodden and He spoke of them as being those who could truly comprehend Him and His message of grace and mercy.
The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven will reveal to us all we need to know. We have to have faith, we have to believe, we have to trust in our Savior righteousness, His loving righteousness, His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace.
We today are longing for Christ's return, for our Savior's second appearing. We are given lots of prophecies for the end time and we truly are living in the end times.
When did the 'end times' begin? Some say they haven't begun at all but are only going to be a few short years before Christ returns, that we can't look at any of the prophecies for fulfillment before then.
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
This is a major book of prophecy predicting Jesus' death, and time from Babylon right up till Christ's second coming. This book tells us that the time of the end would START when the book was unsealed and knowledge was increased.
NO ONE who knows the history of the world thus far can deny that mankind's knowledge took astounding and very astonishing leaps in the mid 1800's. I'm talking we were going from candles to gas light, from no electrically applications in daily life to its quick understanding so that mankind no longer lived in a world void of electricity run products.
'While it had been the early 19th century that had seen rapid progress in electrical science, the late 19th century would see the greatest progress in electrical engineering. Through such people as Nikola Tesla, Galileo Ferraris, Oliver Heaviside, Thomas Edison, Ottó Bláthy, Ányos Jedlik, Sir Charles Parsons, Joseph Swan, George Westinghouse, Ernst Werner von Siemens, Alexander Graham Bell and Lord Kelvin, electricity was turned from a scientific curiosity into an essential tool for modern life, becoming a driving force for the Second Industrial Revolution.[15]'
Pasted from
The advances made after this were incredible and to think for THOUSANDS of years man lived in a such a primitive way. Why did men gain such sudden ability to comprehend the very things they'd been living with for so long. Why did their understanding suddenly ignite where before it had been shrouded in darkness? This was by God's design.
At a time when mankind's knowledge would be increased the time of the end would begin. Many would run to and fro. Running to and fro certainly increased with knowledge increasing- cars, planes- we can't run to and fro faster can we? A plane can get up to speeds we'd find unimaginable on the ground. Truly the prophetic words have come to pass- we can't honestly look at our history and deny this, we just can't. So, by God's own word the time of the end began over 200 years ago and some would have us believe that it is impossible for the 'end times' to be going on for so long. How is it impossible? 200 years in the grand scheme of thousands of years isn't that long at all. And remember this…
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
And this…
Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Just as God revealed all that was needed unto those truly seeking Him and His love, God will do the same now as we live in the end times.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into
The gospel- which things the ANGELS desire to look into.
Amazing words.
Salvation through Christ a subject the angels desire to comprehend, so amazing. The plan of Salvation found in Christ is such a mystery, so incredibly fascinating, so beyond anything else ever known to them- the angels want to understand it all. They long to understand this mystery that we have been given, this wonderful mystery, this gift of God.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we accept His gift of life eternal in Him.
Please Lord help us to be as those seeking, truly seeking understanding. Help us to be watchers, praying always, looking unto that perfect day coming.
All in YOUR LOVE!
Amen.
1Pe 1:11 Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.
Just as the prophet of old inquired and searched diligently for the coming of their Messsiah, we are searching diligently for the second coming of our Messiah, aren't we? We are searching the Scriptures hoping, praying, seeking, longing for understanding so that we are NOT taken unaware as so many in the day of Christ's ministry upon earth. How many who claimed to be looking and longing for the coming Messiah, how many who dedicated their entire lives to the service of God- rejected the Messiah when He appeared? More than we probably realize.
Jesus did NOT find His twelve Apostles among the Jewish religious hierarchy, among the Levites, the appointed priests serving God. Jesus found His twelve Apostles among the 'common' Jewish men. Jesus did NOT find His Apostles among the learned men, the rich men of His day. Jesus found His Apostles among the average, working man, the poor men. What should this tell us? Seriously, what should this message to us be?
We have to realize that Jesus' messages are wholly true and not fables- parables, yes, fables, no.
Jesus spoke of the poor, the unlearned, the broken hearted, the broken in spirit, the meek, the lowly, the poor, the down trodden and He spoke of them as being those who could truly comprehend Him and His message of grace and mercy.
The Holy Ghost sent down from heaven will reveal to us all we need to know. We have to have faith, we have to believe, we have to trust in our Savior righteousness, His loving righteousness, His forgiveness, His mercy, His grace.
We today are longing for Christ's return, for our Savior's second appearing. We are given lots of prophecies for the end time and we truly are living in the end times.
When did the 'end times' begin? Some say they haven't begun at all but are only going to be a few short years before Christ returns, that we can't look at any of the prophecies for fulfillment before then.
Dan 12:4 But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end: many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased.
This is a major book of prophecy predicting Jesus' death, and time from Babylon right up till Christ's second coming. This book tells us that the time of the end would START when the book was unsealed and knowledge was increased.
NO ONE who knows the history of the world thus far can deny that mankind's knowledge took astounding and very astonishing leaps in the mid 1800's. I'm talking we were going from candles to gas light, from no electrically applications in daily life to its quick understanding so that mankind no longer lived in a world void of electricity run products.
'While it had been the early 19th century that had seen rapid progress in electrical science, the late 19th century would see the greatest progress in electrical engineering. Through such people as Nikola Tesla, Galileo Ferraris, Oliver Heaviside, Thomas Edison, Ottó Bláthy, Ányos Jedlik, Sir Charles Parsons, Joseph Swan, George Westinghouse, Ernst Werner von Siemens, Alexander Graham Bell and Lord Kelvin, electricity was turned from a scientific curiosity into an essential tool for modern life, becoming a driving force for the Second Industrial Revolution.[15]'
Pasted from
The advances made after this were incredible and to think for THOUSANDS of years man lived in a such a primitive way. Why did men gain such sudden ability to comprehend the very things they'd been living with for so long. Why did their understanding suddenly ignite where before it had been shrouded in darkness? This was by God's design.
At a time when mankind's knowledge would be increased the time of the end would begin. Many would run to and fro. Running to and fro certainly increased with knowledge increasing- cars, planes- we can't run to and fro faster can we? A plane can get up to speeds we'd find unimaginable on the ground. Truly the prophetic words have come to pass- we can't honestly look at our history and deny this, we just can't. So, by God's own word the time of the end began over 200 years ago and some would have us believe that it is impossible for the 'end times' to be going on for so long. How is it impossible? 200 years in the grand scheme of thousands of years isn't that long at all. And remember this…
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
And this…
Mat 25:5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
Just as God revealed all that was needed unto those truly seeking Him and His love, God will do the same now as we live in the end times.
1Pe 1:12 Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into
The gospel- which things the ANGELS desire to look into.
Amazing words.
Salvation through Christ a subject the angels desire to comprehend, so amazing. The plan of Salvation found in Christ is such a mystery, so incredibly fascinating, so beyond anything else ever known to them- the angels want to understand it all. They long to understand this mystery that we have been given, this wonderful mystery, this gift of God.
By the grace and mercy of our Savior may we accept His gift of life eternal in Him.
Please Lord help us to be as those seeking, truly seeking understanding. Help us to be watchers, praying always, looking unto that perfect day coming.
All in YOUR LOVE!
Amen.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)